North Carolina anglers are experiencing a decent run of channel bass and chopper bluefish. Offshore boats are loading up on king mackerel, yellowfin tuna, dolphin, and a few billfish. Inshore activity is good for smaller king mackerel and false albacore. Inlet anglers may expect taylor blues, speckled trout, flounder, sea bass and puppy drum.
(Photo: Courtesy of TW’s Bait & Tackle. Pictured is Chris Love with his 13.2 pound citation tilefish.)http://www.twstackle.com/report.php?...&reportid=1100
Tournaments:
September 1 – December 31, 2012
CHASIN’ TAILS OUTDOORS SPECKLED TROUT CHALLENGE
Chasin’ Tails Outdoors, Atlantic Beach, NC
Contact: Matt Lamb (252) 240-3474
www.chasintailsoutdoors.com
TW’s Bait and Tackle Reports the following:
Surf Fishing Report:
Rough water. Scattered Bluefish.
Sound Fishing Report:
The Little Bridge on the Nags Head/Manteo causeway catching Trout, Drum and Flounder. Nice catches of Sheepshead from the Oregon Inlet Bridge.
Pier Fishing Report:
Avalon: Bluefish, Flounder, Shark, Skate, Trout and nice run of Spot.
Nags Head: Drum, Spot and Flounder.
Jennette’s: Red Drum, Gray Trout, Speckle Trout, Bluefish, Croaker, Puppy Drum and Spot.
Outer Banks: Spot, Sea Mullet, Blues, Blow Toads and Puppy Drum.
Inshore Boats Report:
A few boats fished inside the inlet and caught Trout, Drum and Sheepshead around the pilings.
Offshore Boats Report:
No boats went offshore. Rough water.
Northern North Carolina Tidal Waters Fishing Reports (Ocracoke Inlet to Surf City)
Summary for the region from the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries:
Ocean: Offshore fishing produced large wahoo and limits of dolphin daily. There were also modest landings of little tunny and skipjack, yellowfin, and blackfin tunas. Large numbers of white marlin were released, along with a few blue marlin and sailfish. Bottom fishing trips out of Ocracoke and Hatteras marinas had good results, landing blueline tilefish, snowy grouper, vermilion snapper, blackbelly rosefish, and tripletail. Midrange anglers caught high numbers of striped bass just beyond the three-mile zone from Oregon Inlet northward to the Virginia line. Large bluefish, 8 pounds or greater, were caught periodically around five miles offshore. Fishermen also caught king and Spanish mackerel in these waters. Near-shore fishermen struggled and had very little to report.
Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Activity was heavy due to consistent catches of both flounder and spotted seatrout. Flounder were caught throughout the area in moderate amounts with very impressive keeper ratios. Shallow water areas at Oregon Inlet continued to yield the bulk of the catches. Spotted seatrout were caught in the early morning hours, but catches dropping off dramatically at mid morning and then increased just before nightfall. Roanoke Sound and the Swan Quarter / Rose Bay areas continued to be the most productive locations. Fishing around the pilings of the Oregon Inlet Bridge produced very large sheepshead, along with moderate amounts of spadefish, black drum, tautog, and needlefish.
Piers/ Beaches: Anglers caught numerous small red drum (puppy drum) and lizardfish, along with croaker, spot, kingfish, pinfish, pigfish, bluefish, pompano, puffers, blue runner, silver perch, striped burrfish, black drum, skates, rays and assorted sharks. Red drum catches made a noted increase in frequency from Avon southward. Most were in the keeper slot or larger.
Central North Carolina Tidal Waters Fishing Reports (Ocracoke Inlet to Surf City)
Summary for the region from the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries:
Ocean: Charter boat fishermen reported landing wahoo, dolphin and occasional blackfin and skipjack tuna. Closer to shore, king mackerel were biting, and Spanish mackerel catches were numerous. The larger fish fell for live bait, but anglers caught fish of all sizes on Clarkspoons or plugs from Cape Lookout to Emerald Isle. Bottom fishing offshore was prosperous. Many boats caught limits of vermilion snapper, amberjack, scup, red porgy, bank sea bass, triggerfish, rock hind, graysby, and tilefish.
Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Anglers fishing in the sounds had good luck using cut shrimp and bloodworms on a two hook bottom rig while fishing for spot, sea mullet, croaker, and pigfish. Flounder were biting exceptionally well in the inlets and sounds. Live mullet on a Carolina rig worked best when fished near structure and around the N.C. State Port turning basin. Other hotspots were inside the hook at Cape Lookout and the sound side of Shackleford Banks. Some anglers reported decent catches of speckled trout in the Haystacks, caught on green grubs or live shrimp.
Piers/Shore: Pompano were numerous in the surf and were caught using sand fleas or cut bait. Spanish mackerel were moving through in droves. GOT-CHA! plugs caught most of the fish, and live bait worked, as well. Bottom fishermen caught spot, croaker, Spanish, blues, red drum, and pinfish.
Southern North Carolina Tidal Waters Fishing Reports (Surf City to North Carolina line)
Summary for the region from the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries:
Ocean: Anglers caught numerous wahoo in the Gulf Stream, some catching their limits of fish in the 30- to 60-pound range. Anglers caught blackfin tuna, skipjack tuna and a number of sailfish, as well. Near-shore king mackerel fishermen had nice catches. Most fish came from Lighthouse Rock, the River Channel and the Fairway Ledge. Flounder and large citation-size Spanish mackerel were also caught on these near-shore reefs.
Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Red drum and flounder fishing was very good. The Little River rock jetty produced many red drum up to 30 pounds. Additionally, the creeks and bays around Bald Head Island were hot spots too. Anglers targeting flounder had the best luck in the lower part of the Cape Fear River from Snow's Cut to Southport. Reports of spotted seatrout were low, but some fish were caught in Carolina Beach Inlet during the early morning hours.
Piers/Shore: Area piers reported slower fishing. Anglers managed to land a few Spanish mackerel and bluefish. Onslow and Pender county piers reported a few good spot runs. Surf fishermen reported good catches of red drum, along with some pompano and sea mullet.
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